The fine folks at Ubisoft came prepared to cause a scene at the San Diego Comic-Con this year when they docked an authentic pirate ship dressed in Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag goodness behind the convention center. The pirate ship was a tribute to the upcoming AC game which features new protagonist Edward Kenway who is part assassin and part pirate but all kick-ass.

We had the chance to attend the Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag panel on Friday afternoon which featured Darby McDevitt (writer), Matt Ryan (voice of Edward Kenway) and comic book legend Todd McFarlane. During the panel the development team showcased new footage from the game which showed Edward Kenway in action and included some running live commentary by Matt Ryan who joked about how he wished he could perform such stunts and how he believes the newest assassin is gonna be the best.

Todd McFarlane talked about the upcoming toys that will coincide with the new Assassin’s Creed game and showed off a prototype for a large pre-order statue bonus. When it came to the Q&A portion of the panel most questions were for the writer Darby McDevitt who tried his best not to convey spoilers about which assassins would make a return to AC4 or not. Many questions from the audience came from very young fans who asked very detailed questions – an interesting juxtaposition from a game filled with so much death and violence.

Back on the Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag pirate ship – fans in attendance had a chance to play multiplayer, see a single-player demonstration, purchase exclusive pirate booty and meet and greet Todd McFarlane – it was almost like a miniature theme park was constructed behind the San Diego Convention Center just for Assassin’s Creed fans – well done!